Before the second Test against India for the Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy, Chris Woakes spoke about captain Ben Stokes’ Dukes ball at Edgbaston in Birmingham.
Stokes was England’s biggest threat in the first innings with the ball. He controlled the game with his accurate bowling. He troubled India’s top order, got Yashasvi Jaiswal, Sai Sudharsan, Karun Nair and Shardul Thakur, finished with 4/66 in 15 overs. He led by example, worked hard with the ball to set the tone for England. They chased 371 and won by 5 wickets and their second highest chase in the format.
He was good, considering he hadn’t played much cricket before the Test. He came in, did well and bowled at a good pace. He’s fit and looks strong, which is good for us, Woakes told the media.
We want him to play every Test and bowl his overs and do what he can, like he did last week. I thought he was amazing on a good pitch. He looked dangerous every time he had the ball, new or old. Good to have that. We all know Stokes’ ability but it’s great when your leader can grab the ball and show the way, he added.
Stokes didn’t play much before the series. After his hamstring injury in New Zealand in December, he played the Test against Zimbabwe last month at Trent Bridge.
To be fit for England this summer, Stokes stopped drinking alcohol during his injury recovery. Woakes thinks Stokes’ hard work is evident in his performance.
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We know what he can do and he showed it last week at Headingley. He trains hard. When he’s training he’s focused. Good to watch, Woakes said.
I could see it coming. He’s been training hard and is in good shape. Because of his injuries he’s worked on his fitness to lead the team at his best, he continued.
He did that last week and hopefully he’ll do it again this series. The best players always try to improve and Ben’s always been like that, he added.
Before the second Test on Wednesday, England named an unchanged XI to control the series.England XI: Crawley, Duckett, Pope, Root, Brook, Stokes (c), Smith (wk), Woakes, Carse, Tongue, Bashir.
